So What’s Wrong with Multiculturalism?

Abstract

I stated in the preface that my reasons for writing this book stemmed from my concerns about the impact of multiculturalism on minority ethnic women. Serious immersion in the literature has not changed my mind; what it has done is to make me realise that my criticisms of multiculturalism are not restricted to its effects on women. Starting from the point of answering ‘yes’ to the question ‘Is multiculturalism bad for women?’ (Okin, 1997), I find myself increasingly aware that multiculturalism is not only bad for women, but for all of us — majorities as well as minorities; men as well as women; secularists as well as religious; society as well as the diverse communities of which it is comprised.